Enna
Enna is a main character throughout The Books of Bayern and is the main protagonist of Enna Burning. She is Ani's best friend, Finn's wife, and a good friend of Razo, Dasha, Geric, and Rin. Biography Like many Forest people, Enna's family struggled to buy enough food for the winter, so as soon as she was old enough to work in the city she took up a job as animal worker for the king's chickens so she could send money back home to her mother and brother. ''The Goose Girl'' As the chicken girl, Enna is alarmed to discover that one of her hens is laying oddly-colored eggs. The sheep boys, Razo and Beier, convince her that the poor chicken must be sick, so Enna buys all sorts of medicines and witch-made charms until she finally spots paint on some hay. Realizing the boys pranked her, she organizes her own prank to pull as payback. Some time later, Enna bursts through the door to the animal workers' dining house, out of breath , begging the sheep boys to rescue her chick coop from a ram who beat a hole through his pen. As soon as the boys are out the door, however, she grins mischievously and declares that she couldn't stop the ram because she was so busy rigging a bucket of oat mush above the door, much to the amusement of her fellow workers. Enna confidently introduces herself to the new goose girl, Isi, and tells her and the other workers that she saw the yellow-haired Kildenrean princess with her very own eyes. She was out buying medicine for what she thought was a sick chicken when she saw the "yellow girl" in a silvery dress with "enough bosom for a tavern girl" ride into the city on a grand white horse, though apparently she didn't ride him properly. The hall gossips about the Kildenreans until the door swings open, revealing two very angry boys dripping with gray slop. Enna merely laughs and salutes them along with the rest of the hall, with cheerful laughter that does not completely break until they all go to bed. Some weeks later during a rainstorm, the animal workers gather in the hall and spend the time playing games as they wait for a chance to use the few rain cloaks Mistress Ideca has. Enna, however, chooses instead to sit by the fire and toast cheese on bread. Shy Isi soon sits next to her and asks her why she's not playing any games. Feeling slightly silly, Enna replies that the fire is fascinating and feels like its trying to signal her with its dancing flames. Shaking herself mentally, Enna answers Isi's other question about why everyone is staying in the hall rather than venturing out into the city, explaining to her that there is severe prejudice against people from the Forest. Traditionally, Bayern boys are given a javelin and shield when they reach manhood to signify that they are a part of the community, part of the city, but this rite isn't give to Forest boys. Some establishments even refuse to serve Forest folk. She and Isi agree that its not fair, but what can they do? Enna warmly thanks the new girl for not laughing at her ideas about fire, and Isi replies that she feels the same way about the wind. She mentions that her aunt used to tell her a story about such things, and Enna pleasantly demands that Isi tell the story, calling over the sheep girl Bettin to hear it too. Blushing at the sudden attention, Isi begins her story, attracting more and more listeners as she goes on until the whole hall is paying attention. When she reaches the end of her tale, Enna and all the other animal workers request that tomorrow, and every night, she tell them a story. One such night, Isi tells a tale about a tragic romance and everyone including Enna listen quietly. When the hall breaks for bed, Enna spots Isi staring at her reflection in the mirror-like window of her tiny house and mentions that Ideca can be persuaded to give senior workers a small table mirror, inadvertently startling Isi, who quickly enters her little room out of embarrassment. Guilty for startling the goose girl, Enna intends to knock on her door in order to apologize but catches sight of Isi's hair through the window. Her long, blonde, definitely-not-Bayern hair. Isi suddenly whirls around, looking just as surprised as Enna is feeling. Isi quickly invites a thunderstruck Enna in, closing her curtains before explaining that she's become so used to being a goose girl that she forgets to worry. Enna tells her that she didn't mean to see her secret, she just wanted to apologize. She touches Isi's yellow hair, realizing that the reason Isi constantly wears a hat or headscarf was to hide it. The girl says that her dark eyebrows, however, are dyed. Enna gently runs a finger over a brow and laughs slightly in disbelief at her clean fingertip. Isi quietly offers to tell Enna her story if she can keep a secret, to which Enna swears she can. Dropping her Bayern accent, Isi reveals that she is really Princess Anidori-Kiladra of Kildenree, forced into hiding because of her traitorous lady-in-waiting, Selia. Isi tells Enna everything, from how she was sent away to marry Bayern's prince to how half of her royal escort mutinied on the journey, claiming Selia as their new princess and murdering the other half of the guard. She tells her that they intended to kill her too, before she managed to escape- albeit without her beloved horse, Falada. She tells her how she and Falada had a special bond that allowed them to communicate mentally, but she recently found Falada in the palace stables and was distraught to find that he had gone mad. She tells her that she came to Bayern's capital city in order to tell the king her story, but realized that he would never take her word over Selia's and her supporters, so she went into hiding as a goose girl. When Isi is finished, Enna sits in stunned silence in the dark, reeling from all the revelations. Finally, Enna asks if Isi- if the princess- would like her to bow. Aghast, Isi hurriedly says no, she just wants to know if Enna believes her. Still reeling in shock, Enna fires off questions thick and fast, about Kildenree, Isi's bond with Falada, and the dark motives of her former guards. Isi answers every one and eventually, Enna runs out of questions. The two girls sit quietly for a while, thinking. Noting that it must be past midnight, Isi slips back into her Bayern accent and thanks Enna for listening. She apologizes for being standoffish, but Enna understands that having a "friend" like Selia soured Isi's trust. She is determined to get Isi's name back, declaring that they'll gather all the workers together to be Isi's guard and make the king listen. Although Isi appreciates the sentiment, she reminds Enna that Selia's supporters killed every one of her loyal guard. She doesn't want their fellow animal workers to risk their lives just to get her name back. Before Enna leaves, Isi stresses that the Kildenreans would kill her if they discovered where she is. Enna swears to not tell anyone, and asks to still call the princess Isi, saying that it suits her. She mentions that although she wouldn't believe Razo cut his finger if he showed her it was bleeding, she really and truly does believe Isi's story despite its seeming incredulity. Enna even tells Isi that when she gets tired of worrying and mourning and trying not to be afraid, she'll do it for her so Isi will get a chance to sleep peacefully. Enna warns Isi that it may not be a good idea for her to attend the Wintermoon festival, but Isi insists that she's a goose girl, not who the guards are looking for. Enna is amused by her new friend's sheer amazement at the wonders the festival has to offer, such as fortune-telling witches, magicians, and acrobats. However, it is not long before Isi quietly pulls her aside and tells her that she saw one of the Kildenrean traitors, though he didn't see her. As the group wanders through the festival, Enna keeps a sharper lookout as she explains to Isi a few of Bayern's customs, such as the javelin dance. After she tells Isi about the dance's significance, she spots a group of nobles daintily picking their way through the crowd. Bettin mentions that the prince should be with them and, to Enna's surprise, Isi decides to see him because she never has before. She leads her friends to follow the nobles until they stop at a game booth where a young boy no more than thirteen happily throws miniature spears at a wooden boar. Enna congratulates Isi on her narrow escape when Razo identifies the little boy as the prince. Happy with his success at the game, the juvenile prince hands a bundle of little spears to a young man who proceeds to land two spears effortlessly in the boar's wooden neck, but the third flies wildly off-mark when Selia playfully bumps his elbow. Enna is alarmed to see the woman calling herself princess and tries to tug Isi away, but the girl can't seem to move. Enna tugs harder and at last pulls Isi away before the false princess can spot her. They continue to enjoy the festival, but the crowd is extremely large and eventually Enna and Isi get separated. Enna frantically searches for her friend but finds no sign of her until a flock of pigeons suddenly take flight, causing enough of a commotion to be heard above the rabble. Her attention caught, Enna spots Isi trapped with two of her traitorous countrymen. Knowing that she must act quickly, Enna somehow manages to find a band of peace-keepers (working-class men who take it upon themselves to protect the people of Bayern when the royal soldiers cannot or will not) and leads them straight to where Isi is struggling with the Kildenreans. One, a man named Yulan, tries to convince them that nothing is wrong as the other, Ishta, casually holds Isi's hand, but the peace-keepers wait for Isi to speak. In her truest Bayern accent, she wastes no time in informing them that they're holding a knife to her back. Almost instantly, she is wrested away from Ishta and Yulan and placed in the center of the peace-keepers. Yulan loses his temper with the peace-keepers and their total lack of acknowledgement of his royal order and tries to attack them, but the peace-keepers are experienced in fighting and they give Yulan's head a deathblow with one of their quarterstaffs. Ishta flees before he, too, can be killed. After Isi thanks the peace-keepers for their help, she and Enna run to the safety of Ideca's hall. That night, Enna an Isi tell the thrilling story to their fellow workers- leaving out the reasons why Isi was almost abducted, of course. Enna gets praise and is given an extra raisin bun for her role in saving the goose girl, but its Isi -a person who had been worth kidnapping, but struggled and was saved- who is treated with an awed respect. ''Enna Burning'' When Enna's mother becomes ill, Enna leaves her job in the city to help tend to her mother as well as the domestic duties. When her mother dies in the spring, Enna becomes the mistress of the little Forest home primarily to help out her older brother Leifer. She often forgets to keep the hearth fire going, however, and one day when the fire dies out, she's dismayed to remember that the kindling box is somewhere in the deep Forest with her brother. She goes to her nearest neighbor Doda to borrow some coals, but when she returns home she sees a glow in her window that suggests the hearth is ablaze. Stepping inside, she finds her brother Leifer in front of the fire, examining something. ''River Secrets'' Enna begs to be a part of the Bayern amabassador's escort to Tira. ''Forest Born'' The plans for Enna's wedding must be put on hold until the uneasiness with Kel is resolved. Physical Description Enna has hair "as black as night" that reaches to the middle of her back. She has wide, dark eyes, slightly giving her an owl-like look. She is often said to be very pretty. Abilities * Enna is a very skilled fire-speaker. She can: ** Sense heat from living things and pull it into a special place inside herself, forming it into fire. ** Send fire into anything she chooses, from dead wood to sword hilts. ** Create bigger fires and keep making them for a longer time than anyone else. ** Send tiny bits of heat into her fingers and toes to keep from being cold. ** Cause wind to dissipate by breaking it up with heat. ** Pull heat directly out of a person's body. * Enna was taught wind-speaking by her best friend Isi. She can: ** Sense images of things that the wind has touched before reaching her. ** Suggest paths for the wind to follow. ** Gather the wind around her into a buffeting shield. ** Douse fires by flooding them with wind. Quotes * "I want to tell you Ani how I believe you. I don't know why. I wouldn't believe Razo if he pricked his finger and told me he was bleeding, and your story's almost as crazy as your bedtime tales, but I really do believe you. And when you get tired of worrying and mourning your horse and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I'll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful." * "I couldn't care less for Kel or her queen. But someone who claims to be the Kelish queen is sending fire-speakers out in the night to burn Bayern villages, and that makes me grumpy. So I'm all for tracking down this 'she' and telling her, very politely, that in Bayern, burning down inns just isn't good manners. And then char every hair from her body." * "If Finn were here, he'd let me rest my head on his chest at night. Or leg. Or arm. And then he'd find whoever was responsible for the whole sleeping outside with no pillows situation and hold him while I kicked him in the shins. Hard." Trivia * According to Razo, Enna hates having her hair touch the back of her neck, dislikes having dry fingertips, prefers her potatoes with salt, and likes music with drums. * Enna can't hold completely still, like fire and wind. * Enna's name may be inspired from the Gaelic names Enya, which means "little fire" or "flames"; or Ena, which means "bright and shining". * In the Bayern Justice League, she is considered to be Wonder Woman. Category:People Category:Main Characters Category:Females Category:Fire-speakers Category:Bayern Category:Wind-speakers Category:Goose Girl Characters Category:Enna Burning Characters Category:River Secrets Characters Category:Forest Born Characters